A desireable feature for modern automobile lamp assemblies is a thin design. A thin design provides the designer of the automobile with additional space in the engine and trunk compartments where lamp cavities were traditionally required. Such thin designs have become more achievable with the advent of the light emitting diode (LED) in automotive lamps. Specifically, LEDs are smaller than traditional incandescent or halogen automotive lamps. In addition, LEDs can be mounted on printed circuit boards or similar thin structures and do not require relatively thick sockets and wire harness assemblies directly behind the lamp. Accordingly, automotive lamp designs that use LEDs as the light source are typically thinner and smaller than traditional automotive lamp designs.
One typical thin lamp design using LEDs includes an elongated lamp housing that supports a printed circuit board (PCB) containing a plurality of LEDs. An elongated inner lens is positioned near to the PCB to cover the LEDs and complete assembly of the thin lamp. Because the lens is positioned so close to the LEDs, the lens must be precisely fit on to the PCB so the LEDs are properly focused by the lens. However, past thin lamp designs have typically involved connection of the housing, PCB and lens using fasteners that extend to or through all three components. Unfortunately, connection of other parts when joining the PCB and the lens often causes some misalignment of the LEDs with respect to the lens.